Lesson on Political Economy
by Kerima Tariman

When a German discovered
The surplus value,
It also calculated
Everything else.

Value of man
Value of land
Value of poem
Value of war

If only just
In three minutes of work
A worker already creates
His/her wage for the whole day,
The rate of exploitation
Is how much percent?
Ay, what excess value —
Or regard —
For super gain and super profit!

I count the things
Which are important to me:
Roof, clothes, daily food.
I count the days
And I shake my head:
Every minute,
The oil companies earn
The equivalent of my 8-hour sweat.
Why is it so important
To desire too much,
If too much excess
Equals to crisis?

I estimate when:
1. the chains of monopoly’s weakest link will snap
2. capitalism will sing its dirge in its own funeral.
Will exploitation be just temporary?
Which are the moments
We must take advantage of?

The German also discovered
That the worker has no country,
And their struggle
Has no border.

So I calculate first,
Meanwhile, what is valuable
For our daily work.
And how valuable,
Comrades, unity is among us.